BOSTON— The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), in collaboration with global nonprofit Fundación MAPFRE, announced the launch of a roadway safety public service contest for Massachusetts high school students. 

 

The contest, which was launched in 2022 as part of MAPFRE's Look Both Ways Program, seeks to help students raise awareness with their peers and underscore the importance of being safe while driving on roadways across the Commonwealth. Safety experts and state officials caution that, as data for 2023 continues to be received and analyzed, the results could show a third straight yearly increase in road-related fatalities. 

 

"MassDOT is pleased to continue our collaboration with Fundación MAPFRE through the second annual roadway safety education contest," said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. "Getting young drivers involved in safety education is an important action towards making our streets safer, and we are eager to see the great ideas that students come up with this year. Their participation is important in helping MassDOT to envision a future without roadway injuries and deaths." 

 

To enter the contest, high schools simply visit: https://www.fundacionmapfre.org/en/look-both-ways/. The deadline for contest submissions is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 29. The students with the winning submission will work with the Boston Creative Communications Agency (CTP) to produce the spot which is anticipated to timely air in the spring before prom and graduation season. Additionally, the students' school will receive $3,000 provided by Fundación MAPFRE, toward road safety education.

 

Look Both Ways aims to eliminate road-related fatalities and serious injury, connecting high schools and colleges with the program's"React Challenge." The mobile interactive virtual reality station tests students' safe driving ability when faced with distractions behind the wheel. 

 

According to the Massachusetts Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), roadway deaths in Massachusetts reached a 14-year high in 2021 (413 deaths), increasing year-over-year since 2019. Since publication of the SHSP, 2022 trended even higher (435 deaths). In 2023, the 345 fatalities appear to have dropped to pre-Covid levels.

 

Nationally, roadway fatalities increased in the early times of Covid, and the 2023 national early estimates are also trending down. In the last five years, people walking and biking accounted for almost 22 percent of deaths on Massachusetts roadways.